Post #1026036

2026-04-06 08:45 UTC

As more people use Signal, I&#39;m facing a fun conundrum: I want to keep my irl and my online identities separate, which Signal actual makes very, very hard to do, because everything is tied to the phone and the number. I do have two phones numbers (which is actually a rather new thing for me), but even then I can&#39;t just simply add another account in the same phone. I know why Signal does this (phone metadata could link the accounts), but it just plain sucks for a user whose threat model isn&#39;t that strict. I now installed Shelter to setup a &quot;work&quot; profile to clone the Signal app. But this means that stuff like my keyboard is different in Signal. Also, if I were to need a third identity / account (which I luckily currently do not), this approach would not work anymore because there can only be a single &quot;private&quot; and &quot;work&quot; profile on the same device. Also, the boilerplate is frankly fucking ridiculous. I just want furries and online friends to see my fursona as avatar and my family and irl friends to see my real face, god dammit!

Replies (6)

@NanashiSpaniel@bark.lgbt 2026-04-06 08:50

@VonFluffington@packmates.org You can also absolutely hide your number from everyone on Signal, and set it to "no one can find me with my number". This way you’re 100% covered, no one will be able to find you without your handle.

Open ##2455001
@Rackuur@mastodon.art 2026-04-06 09:00

@VonFluffington@packmates.org Welcome to survalliance capitalism. Maybe a virtual "phone" could help with that problem. Haven't invested time in this topic, but i know there are virtual Sims/Hardwareemulations out there.

Open ##2455004
@creideiki@akkoma.xn--pikabl-0xa.se 2026-04-06 09:05

@VonFluffington@packmates.org I do not understand why Signal is so resistant to this very basic feature. It's been requested repeatedly since at least 2018, but there's been no progress: https://community.signalusers.org/t/multiple-separate-user-profiles-multiple-identites-for-example-but-not-exclusive-to-dual-sim-phones/

Open ##2455005
@Rackuur@mastodon.art 2026-04-06 09:05

@VonFluffington@packmates.org https://www.blacktel.io/en/setup for a start

Open ##2455009
@uvok@woof.tech 2026-04-06 09:47

@VonFluffington@packmates.org if it's an option for you, you could try molly IM, a signal fork. Installed in the same profile.

Open ##2455013
@sovy@pandapla.net 2026-04-08 12:46

@VonFluffington@packmates.org Yeah, real life already claimed Signal so I can't really use that platform to be furry on with the phone number restriction and it is just not worth it to get a second phone and number.

Open ##2455015